* The 4 become 6.

Continuing on..The journey from BTS to Cesky Krumlov, ensued with the usual travel aerobic - tram/train/transfer and then 'supreme joyous relief' - we got into our rental car!- the good old fashion American way of travel! Poor Rick, though, this new luxury means he would now be responsible for packing/driving/ parking/unpacking for the 4 car's occupants. Wouldn't you know, he did it all with an admirable sense of duty & committment and w/o any complaining (though there were sighs and grins here and there that I translated to mean = strong irritation). It always seems that during these trips, we chicks rely heavily on his ability to navigate, organize and keep track of all of us - a role that, fortunately, seems to come to him w/ease - and for that we are immensely grateful! In the transition, we lost Paul to Prague while we continued on. We made day of driving through the scenic countryside of Czech, visiting a few Unesco towns before settling into Cesky Krumlov - the newest city to be discovered by swarms of tourists. It's narrow, midevil streets, renaissance architectures, a bear moat (first one I've ever seen) and the 2nd largest castle etched into the side of a mtn, is right out of National Geographic. The live bears in the moats looked like grizzles. On our tour of the castle, various bears rugs were displayed, an histories revealed, apparently, we were told they all 'died of naturally causes' (is shooting considered a natural cause?) The next day, our new cast members finally arrived- Rami, Camille, Val. It was another long anticipated reunion for me. We found ourselves reunited at a quaint tea house - chatting & laughing the hrs away - there was so much catching up to do - even though Skype was used often with many of these guys, during my 2 months stay in Europe. I've always believed that NOTHING beats spending time with people - not phone calls, sms, emails or even good intentions - you only get to know someone well when time is shared! It was delight to finally have their company, instead of just IM's/sms. Its more than a little interesting that the addition of merely 3 people can change the whole dynamics & energy of a group. Not only were there heaps of hysterics w/ this gang - the various annoyances surfaced too w/ various toilet stops, hunger pangs and shopping trips - all while trying to travel as a group. At one point, we counted that everyone had rolled their eyes at least once, at someone else (according to Gottman - rolling of eyes means disgust). Personalities can be hid for only so long when you are traveling in such close quarters - its as though travel is the ultimate revealer. Food: Our first meal in Czech was selected simply because its lights were on. As we bit into the first morsel, a look of shock/awe crossed my face - "this was fabulous stuff". I looked up and everyone had that same smirk across their face. Low and behold, this was just the beginning of the feast for the palate - I don't exaggerate (ask my peeps) every single meal was of 5-star quality. Add to the fact that the entrees cost less than a McDonalds happy meal - we felt like we hit the jackpot! I mean, how can every city in Czech, be so consistent in the preparation of their meals? This could be why tourist rate this as the 'bestest country' in Central Europe? After some sightseeing, bonbon eating and desert snacking, some headed by car to Karlovy Vary, while the 'financially conscious of the group' took a leisurely, long, bus trip. Karlovy Vary, Czech's premeir spa town offers a peaceful setting in a green valley, bubbling over w/ 12-mineral springs which can be drunk or bathed in. You can feel the turn of the century jumping out at you as you stroll along the promenade, drinking in the view and architecture Quiet the Dame, this city is and everybody fell in love instantly upon seeing it! Holly fulfilled a dream and booked herself into the 5-star 'Grand Pupp'. (Some will remember seeing this hotel used as the Casino in Casino Royal or in Last Holiday) . Its truly as spectacular as it looks on screen. One could envision Beethoven, Mozart, Kafka teeming w/ inspiration as they absorbed the surroundings and 'took in the waters'. We spent 3-nights here before our gaggle of 6 descended on the creme de la creme of Central Europe - Prague! ....I'll finish the last blog this week and put up some photos soon.

* Wish you were here

Yes, folks, I'm still alive....and still walking my shoes down to the sole, off. Time seems to have escaped me since I left Poland on the 3rd of Sept. Its been a constant change of scenery, cold/rainy weather, laughs and fabulous dinning since then. (Unfortunately, I don't have access to my photos at this stage, so I'll add those when I arrive home at the end of Sept.)
Both mum and I happen to leave the same day, she for home and I, for Budapest Hungary. As I parted ways with my brother, knowing that I probably wouldn't see him for another year, I was saddened. Strange to think that we can't just visit each other at a whim - but instead have to travel hundreds of air miles for a dinner or face to face chat. I'm very glad I took the opportunity to live close by, spending quality time Geo and getting to meet Eddy, his girlfriend. Even though Warsaw wasn't the most exciting city to reside in - it was a worthwhile trip just the same!
As I boarded my Wizz Air flight to Budapest I wondered how my 3rd visit would be different. Rick greeted me at the apt in Budapest - it was truly wonderful to see a familiar, smiling face from home. We walked over to where Paul and Holly were - and after months of planning and pent up excitement - the group of 4 was complete. The next day we got the biggest shock in the form of cold & rain - a weather pattern that would follow us for an ENTIRE 9 DAYS! I've been to Europe heaps of times and I must add that this trip offered me the lousiest weather of all of them. Fortunately, the fact that we were on vacation didn't escape us and that alone gave us a sense of elevated enthusiasm - not having to go to work, for most, was reason enough to be happy. The company of good friends was also a bonus.
Budapest is a terrific city for indoor sightseeing - its riddled with museums, gallaries, grand buildings (none of which I visited, of course) and heaps of shopping. Although it's the least attractive of all the cities because of its massive nature, it had everything one could want for a fulfilling city stay including plenty of turkish/thermal baths. We visited one of the oldest and grandest of them all - Gilbert Baths. It disappointed some of those expecting a familiar USA Spa experience, as its very old world - everything is impossible to understand as its in Hungarian, and the facilities were old, but charming (I thought) I didn't' spend but a few min. in the actual mineral bath (at 38 C it just wasn't hot enough for me) . Before leaving, I was strongly encourage by staff to par-take in a message, I happily agreed and received one of the best & cheapest, full back body massage (butt included :-) . One could tell immediately that this older lady had been doing massages for decades - and at only $20 USD for 40 min - I was in heaven!
On Wed, we headed to Bratislava, Slovakia but not until paying a fine for being caught by the transportation cops for not having bought the right subway ticket. Apparently pleading 'being an ignorant American' didn't get us off, so 60 euros later we were headed off to Bts. It was a shocking arrival - loaded up with luggage, after dark, with furious cold and rains engulfing us - we broke with the trip rules and decided to pay extra to have a taxi take us to our apt. (traveling cheap but classy was the theme of this trip). We arrived to wait some more as unlike hotels, apt accommodations aren't staffed full time - so we need to call/sms the managers beforehand to meet us at the apt and pay upfront. This apt was the bomb - covered in all red Ikea furniture, huge TV, jacuzzi bathtub and with 3 big bedrooms! Bratislava is a very small city, usually a 1/2 day stopover for most on their way to Vienna or Budapest, so we spent only one day here before heading over to spend the rest of our trip in the Czech Republic....where a change of cast would take place and the real craziness would begin. Coming up...our adventures in the loveliest of all Central European countries - Czech Republic.